


Say That Again

by justsomebucky



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Diners, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bucky's metal arm is a topic, F/M, Soulmates, You're a waitress at a cute diner while attenting uni
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 14:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11511207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justsomebucky/pseuds/justsomebucky
Summary: Soulmate AU. Everyone hears a key word or phrase in their head from their soulmate, something only heard in person when the moment is right.





	Say That Again

_‘Say that again.’_

That’s the phrase that sounds in your head nearly every time your emotions are heightened. All the experts you’ve consulted agree: that’s the voice of your soulmate (the one you have yet to meet) reassuring you somehow that they still exist.

Every person hears a word or phrase in someone else’s tone of voice in their lives.

It’s nothing as dramatic as the movies, where the phrase is the first or last thing they’ll say to you (though there have been reports, on occasion, where one-half of the soulmate duo loses it and passes out when they finally meet).

No, it’s just a phrase that you’ll hear from them in a shared moment between you when the time is right, so that you can identify that it’s really them.

A person could already know their soulmate, but until they say the words you’ve become so familiar with, they’re just another person to you. 

Your aunt realized her soulmate was her freaking gynecologist after three years of a doctor-patient relationship. It wasn’t until her keyword came up in conversation that she realized, mid-exam, who he was ( _awkwaaaard_ ).

Anyway, you didn’t want it to be that uncomfortable for you. 

It seemed only fitting that your soulmate’s little catchphrase was a demand rather than words of comfort. You were only a sucker for validation, no big deal.

Say _what_ again, anyways?

It left no clue as to what your soulmate was hearing on repeat from you. Was it romantic? Did you tell him off during a fight? Was it something stupid like, ‘pass the salt?’

You remember the first time you started hearing his voice in your head. It began as a gentle whisper, and every time you’d find yourself in trouble or a crying mess on the floor, the little mantra would make itself known in your brain.

_‘Say that again.’_

“I’m sorry, am I paying you to sit and daydream?”

You blinked up at your boss, Pepper Potts, who also happened to own this diner. _Pepper’s Place_ was purchased for her as a gift from her very wealthy boyfriend, Mr. Tony Stark. She had grown tired of being his assistant and longed for a much simpler way to show off her business skills, so this cute little place right near the highway was converted to a classic diner.

Most of its patrons were just traveling through to someplace more exciting, including truckers who stopped to refuel themselves with pancakes and greasy eggs.

You were the newest hire, a university student in need of some extra funds for all the stupid new overpriced books you had to buy.

Being a waitress wasn’t so bad, once you got used to being called sweetheart in every which way except the way you wanted (not that you’d want any of these people to say it _that_ way). Customers kept their hands to themselves; Pepper would have it no other way.

Plus, you got free waffles all the time, and something great was always playing from the jukebox.

“Sorry, Pepper,” you muttered, straightening up off the counter and offering her a weak smile. “Won’t happen again.”

Pepper eyed you for a second. “Good. Now could you please go pick up table six? Natasha had to sneak out for a doctor’s appointment and Jon’s…being Jon.”

“I can do that.” You grabbed your iPad (no _way_ was a restaurant associated with the Stark name going to use regular paper and pencil for orders), and wandered over to good old table six.

There were four guys currently sitting together, looking a little bit more than uncomfortable. The first person to smile at you was a blonde man with bright blue eyes and perfect teeth.

“Ma’am,” he greeted with a nod.

You offered a smile of your own. “Hi there, welcome to Pepper’s Place. Can I get you started with some drinks?”

“I’ll just have water,” he replied, glancing to the man next to him. “Sam?”

His buddy Sam scratched his head for a second. “Coffee, please.”

You nodded, tapping your finger on the iPad. “Are you guys gonna want separate checks?”

Mr. Perfect Teeth was about to speak up, when the other blonde guy stopped him.

“No, Steve,” he cut in. “This is on me. You picked up the check last time.”

“Thanks, Clint.”

Somehow you were learning all their names. At least this would make it easier than thinking to yourself that _Mr. Perfect Teeth wanted water_.

Clint nodded at you. “I’ll have an iced tea.”

“One iced tea. And for you, sir?” You glanced up from the tablet to the fourth guy sitting in the corner. He was wearing a hat and jacket even though it was fairly warm inside the diner that day.

You’ve seen stranger things, so you just shrugged it off and waited patiently.

“Water,” he finally croaked out.

“You’ll have to excuse Bucky, he’s not good in social settings,” Sam explained, chuckling to himself.

“Ooookay. So that’s two waters, a coffee, and an iced tea. I’ll be back with your drinks in a couple minutes and you can let me know if you need more time to decide.”

“Thank you-” Steve’s eyes slipped down to your name tag. “- Y/N.”

He was both polite _and_ good-looking. Thank goodness for customers like him. You gave him another smile before turning to get their drinks.

“So what’s the deal over there?”

You looked over to the waiter on hand, Jon. “What’s what deal?”

“Those absolutely gorgeous specimen sitting in your section today? How come you get to have all the fun?”

You lifted the water pitcher toward him. “Thirsty much?”

“God, yes. Look at the tall, blonde, and built one. He was flashing you a pretty sweet smile.”

“He was being polite,” you argued, reaching for the coffee pot. “This isn’t decaf, right? The handle is so worn I can’t tell.”

“I’ll let you in on a little secret, I never bothered to brew the decaf,” Jon replied, pressing his hands on the counter. “I was too busy drooling.”

“Jon,” you hissed, putting one hand on your hip. “You know that’s dangerous, right? Some people can’t have the caffeine.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll brew it right now, but you have to step up your flirting game.”

You rolled your eyes. “I’ll get right on that.”

Before he could utter another word, you grabbed the tray and went back to the table, handing out the drinks. It looked like they were just finishing up a tense conversation.

“Are you guys ready to order, or do you need more time?” Your iPad was at the ready just in case.

“Umm…what are the specials?” Clint asked, flipping the menu over. “I couldn’t find them.”

“Today’s specials are wedding soup, a roast beef sandwich with fries and gravy, or a fresh chicken mango salad.”

“I’ll have the roast beef,” he decided, handing you the menu.

Sam and Steve both ordered that as well.

Your eyes flickered to the fourth guy expectantly.

“Bucky, did you decide?” Steve asked gently.

You wondered for a second why these guys were being so soft-spoken to this Bucky.

When he failed to do anything more than stare at the menu, Clint sighed. “He’ll have the roast beef, too.”

Well that was all fine, but you weren’t going to make a move until Bucky confirmed. He did two seconds later, giving a short nod as he handed the menu over without looking at you.

_Weird._

“Sure thing.” You confirmed their order and submitted it to the kitchen before leaving the table again.

Jon was thankfully busy at his own tables when you got back behind the counter, so you set the iPad down and turned to Wanda, head of the bakery section.

“Wan, have you ever seen those guys in here before?”

She glanced over her shoulder to table six before nodding. “I’ve seen them all around here before.”

“What’s their deal?”

“They’re just uni students like us. I think the two on the aisle are there on athletic scholarships. The one in the tight army t-shirt is in my public speaking class, and he’s really good with words, such a charmer. As for that other guy, I’m pretty sure he’s trying to be a doctor or something.”

“He’s wearing a coat indoors. It’s freakin’ hot in here.”

Wanda looked back at you. “He’s just probably self-conscious about his arm.”

Your brows furrowed in confusion. “What about his arm?”

“He’s got a prosthetic arm. No clue what happened, but everyone says he did something heroic.”

“Hmmm…” You glanced back at the table, catching Bucky’s blue eyes staring at you. Your cheeks heated almost immediately, so you turned away and toward the kitchen just in time to see that their food was ready.

* * *

The lunch rush was only just starting and Natasha still wasn’t back yet, so you had to take on a couple more tables and leave the four guys to their sandwiches.

The busier things got, the more your anxiety seemed to increase. Twice, you nearly took out someone with your giant tray. You hated to admit it, but that second time you’d been distracted by the fact that Bucky wasn’t at the table anymore.

He probably just went to the restroom, you reasoned as you went to shove your iPad back into your apron pocket.

The last table only wanted milkshakes, which was easy enough for you to handle. It was actually a nice change of pace, considering the table before that wanted every appetizer on the menu.

You distractedly spun around, letting out a sharp gasp when you bumped into a hard body. Your iPad slipped from your fingers and landed with a thud on the floor.  

“Shit,” you muttered under your breath, crouching down at the exact same moment the person you ran into crouched. The two of you bumped into each other again, and this time you lost your balance and fell over onto them.

You glanced up, ready to apologize profusely when you realized that you’d just landed on top of Bucky. His hat was off and you could see him clearly now.  

His blue eyes were staring down at you in total shock.

“I’m so sorry, it’s my fault.” You scrambled to get off of him, feeling your face heat up for the second time since your shift started.

You found yourself locked into place when he gently held your elbow. Confused, you looked back at him. Why the hell would he stop you from getting up? You were totally humiliated as it was. Maybe you weren’t cut out for waitressing after all.

“Say that again.”

Great, and now you were hearing your stupid soulmate’s voice amidst your anxiety attack. Perfect timing like always with a completely useless and not-at-all reassuring phrase. You huffed and moved to pull your arm away from him.

_“Say that again.”_

A little shock ran through you when you realized Bucky’s mouth was moving at the same time you heard your little catchphrase. Your mouth opened and closed a couple times as you tried to digest what you just saw.

“I said ‘ _I’m so sorry, it’s my fault,’_ ” you repeated, unable to tear your eyes away.

Bucky shook his head in what could only be described as utter disbelief. “That’s…that’s impossible. I’ve imagined the scenario a thousand different ways and a phrase like that- it never led me to think that I’d- that we’d meet like _this_?”

“What do you mean?” You had an inkling, but you wanted to hear him say it.

“Say that again,” he repeated. “That’s what you’ve been hearing, right?”

This time you actually managed to get up off of him and stand upright, though your eyes never left his.

“What are you saying?”

Bucky stood too and reached for your hand as he pulled you toward the door. The little bell rang and you caught Pepper’s eye, but you merely shook your head helplessly at her and followed Bucky outside.

“My whole life, I’ve been hearing ‘ _I’m so sorry, it’s my fault,’_ over and over in a voice that sounded an awful lot like yours,” he explained, running his hand through his hair. You caught a glimpse of his high-tech metal prosthetic, which he noticed.

Bucky pulled his sleeve up. “Do you know how this happened? Anyone back there tell you?”

You shook your head, gazing at the impeccable design.

“I pushed a woman out of the way of a bus on campus. She didn’t realize she had to look both ways and check the bus lane, walked right out in front of it. I pushed her out of the way and took the hit myself. They tried to fix it but my arm was crushed.”

To say you were completely in awe of this man was an understatement. “You’re a hero.”

He shook his head. “That’s not why I’m…I told you that because the woman there nearly said the same phrase but it wasn’t exactly right…I’ve spent the last two years thinking that fate was playing a cruel joke on me, that you weren’t actually real, or that I already missed out on knowing you.”

You couldn’t imagine feeling that way. “Until I apologized?”

For the first time since he walked into the diner, Bucky smiled. “Until you apologized for something that clearly wasn’t your fault. Then the phrase took on a new meaning.”

“And you said the phrase I’ve heard all my life.”

“I guess I did.”

You really hit the damn jackpot on this one. Bucky was a hero, a _real life hero_! He was beautiful and kind and smart, and you probably didn’t deserve him. “So what do you go to school for, Bucky?”

“I’m in the biomedical engineering program. I started out in a different major, but since my accident…I want to help people like me with prosthetic limbs.”

“That’s amazing,” you breathed out. “You turned something scary into something amazing.”

He looked at you evenly. “So you aren’t…I mean, my arm-“

“Clearly we need to get to know each other better, pal,” you said, shaking your head. “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt any worse than that.”

“People stare a lot…I just wanted to make sure you weren’t…”

“You’re my soulmate,” you interrupted, your voice sounding every bit as thankful as you felt. “Every single piece of you.”

“And you’re _my_ soulmate.” Bucky’s smile widened, his eyes sparkling. “I never imagined someone so beautiful would be meant for someone like me.”

“I’m just a waitress.”

“And I’m just a guy who wasn’t even going to go out for lunch today.”

You took a step closer, sliding your hand gently up his metal arm. “So who should I thank?”

“Steve,” he supplied, letting his other arm encircle your waist. “He told me I needed to get out of the apartment.”

“Yeah, Steve’s going to get a free slice of apple pie.” You gave him a warm smile. “It’s the least I could do.”

“That’s fine by me, sweetheart. Give them all desserts. Meanwhile, I get the girl, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Bucky leaned over until you felt his breath on your lips, but he hesitated, waiting for your permission.

“Say that again,” you joked, leaning over to close the distance with a kiss.


End file.
